


Unrequited

by silver_drip



Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 10:13:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4475504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/pseuds/silver_drip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky comes out of the cold. Things are strained at first. Tony makes things easier for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unrequited

Bucky wasn’t sure how he felt about the Avengers. He knew that things would be uncomfortable before he even let Steve capture him.

He should have known it would be like _this_. Feeling their eyes on him all the time. Natasha was the worst. She was always expressionless and always watching him. There was… something like caution there, but worse. Bruce looked at him with pity. There was also understanding in his eyes. It made Bucky uncomfortable. Clint tried to play friendly with him, but he was always on alert, ready for Bucky to snap. He’d only met one of the two Asgardian Avengers. Thor was up in Asgard. Loki gave him a confused look that sometimes had an edge of distaste.

The looks Steve gave him just sucked the life right out of him. Pity and longing, longing for the friend he could never have back.

Then there was Tony.

He was…strange.

When they were first introduced Tony barely said anything only raising his mug in greeting before leaving. Steve had gone after him to make him apologize, but no apology ever came.

The first three weeks Bucky had been here Tony hadn’t even spared him a glance. He knew part of that was because Tony was either asleep or in the lab. They’d only been in the same room a handful of times since their first meeting.

Did he know? Did he know that Bucky was the one who killed his parents?

Bucky hadn’t told anyone yet. He was scared that if he did they’d kick him out and he’d be lost all over again.

Then one day Tony started paying attention to him. Bucky should have figured that it would be something mechanical that caught his attention.

Bucky had been sitting in the corner of the room, minding his own damn business. Then his arm had to start acting up. It began twitching, making a quick clicking noise that was nearly indiscernible.

Tony’s brown eyes flew upwards and over to him, landing on his metal arm. His brow furrowed and Bucky was surprised to see concern in his expression.

“Your arm giving you trouble?” It was the first words Tony had said to him. They didn’t register in his mind at first. “Buckaroo, you here with me?” Tony was smiling, something Bucky had only seen a few times, mostly when Tony was chatting with Clint or Bruce. He’d even cracked a smile or two at Steve.

“It will pass,” Bucky said, not sure how to actually interact with Tony.

“How often does that happen?”

“Two or three times a week.”

“And you didn’t come to me about it?” Tony frowned and Bucky could almost see hurt in Tony’s eyes.

“I didn’t know I could,” Bucky said truthfully, and he may have been avoiding him a bit, trying to not let his guilt for killing Tony’s parents slip out.

Tony tossed the tablet he’d been working on aside and stood. Bucky followed suit, feeling a bit nervous.

“Well now you know.” He gave Bucky a sincere smile before throwing his arms over the taller man’s shoulders. Bucky was startled by the sudden contact and froze for a second. Tony’s arm fell away and he kept going as if he hadn’t noticed Bucky’s obvious pause.

Bucky took a gulp and quickly caught up with him.

The elevator opened and they both stepped in. Bucky suddenly felt a bit shaky, and he doubted it had anything to do with his metal arm. Tony was being so easygoing that Bucky didn’t know how to react. He was even humming along to the elevator music, completely relaxed around someone who even set Steve on edge.

Bucky didn’t even notice the doors had opened until Tony was stepping through them. He’d never been down to Tony’s lab before. His eyes widened and he was reminded of the amusement park he’d visited with Steve and two dames, right before he was shipped off. Howard Stark’s creations had seemed amazing at the time, but compared to some of the half-finished projects just laying around they seemed laughable. He wanted to run his fingers against the soft curves of the torso of an Iron Man suit that was hanging from the ceiling, just high enough for Tony to easily access the dangling wires and tubes where its legs should be.

“Have you been having any tingling sensations where your muscles meet the sensors?” Tony asked, pulling out a rolled up toolkit. The items inside of it were well looked after and finer than many of the other ones laying around.

“No more than usual.” Tony prompted Bucky to sit down and raised Bucky’s metal arm up until it was resting on a small workbench between them.

“It’s probably a mechanical error then. The myoelectric sensors may be too sensitive.” Tony paused in thought. “Muscle spasms in your shoulder might be a factor too.” Tony stared at the place where fabric covered metal. “Can you take your shirt off so I can see your shoulder?” Bucky nodded mutely while pulling off the black shirt. He knew the scars were ugly, but Steve informed him that every Avenger had more than one scar that they wished they didn’t.

Tony’s eyes swept over the pink flesh and Bucky felt it as those eyes traveled up his neck before looking him in his eyes.

“You should probably get a weekly massage to work out all that built up stress. It might help with the muscle spasms. I’ll even schedule it for you if you’d like. I’m a platinum member so it won’t cost you a thing.”

“Why would you do that for me?” Bucky asked, confusion overtaking his usual angst and sadness.

“We’re teammates and friends. Why wouldn’t I want to help you?”

_Because I murdered your parents_ , immediately came to mind, but he held it in.

He fell silent and looked away as Tony opened up the panel on the front of his shoulder. Tony leaned in and once again Bucky was startled by their close proximity. Luckily Tony didn’t notice this time.

“I’m going to recalibrate the sensors for your fingers first. I need you to tell me if they stop working or if the reaction time slows.”

“Alright.” Bucky began moving his finger in a waving motion, used to these sorts of tests, despite usually being spaced out. “It slowed,” Bucky said a few minutes later. He’d been briefly distracted by the way Tony’s breath felt on his exposed skin, but had reined that back in quickly.

“One sec.” Tony bit his tongue and Bucky couldn’t look away. “How ‘bout—”

There was a strange popping noise and Bucky lurched up, ready for a fight. Loki was standing a few feet away in uncharacteristically casual clothing. Even though it was one of his teammates Bucky couldn’t bring himself to relax.

Loki stared at him for a moment, clearly skeptical, before his eyes flickered to Tony.

“Ah, Stark.” Loki walked over to them. “It seems that you have accumulated another injury.” Bucky quickly looked over to Tony. He had his lips on the palm of his hand, a thin rivet of blood going down his wrist.

“Just a small cut. Nothing to worry about, Reindeer Games,” Tony said and Bucky’s eyes widened when he saw blood on his lips and got the first glance at the gash on his hand. It was far from a small cut. It looked like the skin had been torn, creating a mangled flap of flesh. He glanced at the open panel on his left arm and saw the sharp edge that must have cut Tony when Bucky abruptly stood.

“I’ve already warned you about those nicknames, Stark. Testing my limits will be detrimental to your health.” Despite his words Loki still held out his hand and Tony placed his bloody one on top of it. Bucky had seen Loki do this more than once, but it never ceased to amaze him. There was a bright glowing and soon all evidence of the injury was gone, save the drying blood.

Without another word Loki disappeared.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky said, feeling like he deserved every moment of torment he’d gone through. First he’d killed Tony’s parents and now he’d injured Tony. He really should be locked up.

“It happens.” Tony shrugged easily while going to an industrial sized sink to wash his hands. Bucky quickly glanced around and used a dirty rag to remove the proof that it was his arm that had injured Tony.

Bucky stared back at his arm.

“Thank you for your help. My fingers are moving as fast as usual. I’m certain that you fixed the problem,” Bucky hastily said while leaving, not even giving Tony a moment to speak.

* * *

Bucky did his best to avoid him after that. He had enough guilt as is when it came to Tony Stark. There was no need to add more fodder to his spiral of misery.

There were some moments that were unavoidable, like when a building was about to explode and Bucky was standing right on top of it.

“Bucky, coming at you from your six!” Tony said loudly through the comlink. Bucky only had just enough time to turn before metal arms were wrapping around him and he was flown away.

The blast from the building sent them careening forward and through a window of another building. They skidded a good ten feet before a counter brought them to a stop.

Bucky sat up, cataloging his injuries. It was only after his usual self-assessment that he realized Tony hadn’t moved at all.

“Tony? Tony!” He gently shook his metal clad shoulders. He heard Tony’s digitized voice.

“What?” he groaned.

“You alright?”

“Probably just a concussion.” Tony sat up and flipped his visor open. He gave Bucky a blinding smile. “Need a lift to the ground?” Bucky was momentarily dazed before he nodded in agreement.

* * *

Avengers Movie Nights were the worst. Tony liked to spread out on top of anyone near him. The Avengers excluding Loki didn’t seem to mind. Loki would push him off the couch if so much as touched him with his toe. Unfortunately, Steve liked to sit next to Bucky and Tony liked to sit by Steve, because apparently Steve was the ‘comfiest’.

Bucky had never been jealous of Steve before, but for some reason he was now.

Tony’s odd habit somehow ended up with Tony resting his head on Bucky’s thigh.

Bucky had never known temptation like this before. There was something about Tony that gave Bucky the butterflies, especially now that Tony was more open. It seemed like whatever had him in a funk when Bucky first arrived was gone.

Tony also had a habit of falling asleep against Bruce. He… trusted him. No one had trusted Bucky like that other than Steve, and he’d known him a lifetime. Tony and Bruce had only known each other for a year and a half.

Then one movie night Tony started poking Bucky on his leg with his foot.

“Buckaroo, how are you tonight?” Tony asked.

“Shut up, Tony,” Natasha hissed.

“It’s only the opening credits. You’ve already seen this movie twice.”

Natasha pounced on him and began smothering him with a pillow. Tony thrashed about until a wave of green unbalanced her.

“The movie started. You both need to shut up,” Loki hissed.

“Loki,” Thor said in a warning tone. Loki made a hand motion and Thor’s chair collapsed under him.

“I said shut up.” A bowl of popcorn appeared in Loki’s hand and he turned his full attention on the movie.

* * *

Bucky couldn’t get Tony out of his head. He seemed happier, and so damn tactile. Tony loved to touch. Natasha and Loki would always brush him off, Steve and Bruce seemed used to it, and Thor always clapped his hand on Tony’s shoulder while grinning easily.

Bucky didn’t know how to respond. It had been literally decades since he was touched in a kind manner. Even Steve was hesitant to touch him beyond their initial hug.

Tony was just kind to him while everyone else was wary of him, still flinching whenever he moved suddenly.

Then everyone started loosening up around him. Bucky didn’t understand it until he walked in on Tony giving Loki shit for looking down on Bucky. It was a… big fight. There was shouting involved and when Loki finally gave in Bucky felt like he was going to cry.

* * *

The guilt was killing him. Each time Tony smiled at him Bucky was just reminded of the fact that he’d killed Tony’s parents.

“Hey, can we talk?” Bucky asked, pulling Tony away from whatever he was reading on his tablet. Tony gave him one of his blinding smiles.

“What’s up, Buckaroo?” Tony set aside his tablet and patted the seat beside him.

“I have something I need to tell you.” Bucky’s breathing was already starting to get out of control. Tony placed his hand on Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky hated the fact that he knew after this Tony would stop giving him those casual touches, those bright smiles. He’d probably get kicked out of the tower all together.

“Well, get on with it. I’m a busy man,” he said playfully, rubbing Bucky’s shoulder slightly. Even though he didn’t want to, Bucky shrugged him off.

“When Hydra had me, when I was the Winter Soldier,” Bucky took in a deep breath, “they sent me on an assassination mission.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I killed your parents.” Tony’s hand froze on Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky felt his dread building up.

“Bucky, I already knew that,” Tony said softly and the breath in Bucky’s throat caught. He looked over at Tony, his eyes a bit blurry.

“And you didn’t say anything?” It wasn’t an accusation, just confusion.

“I didn’t know if you knew. Life is hard enough as is without adding anymore guilt to it.” Bucky was surprised when Tony pulled him into a hug. “You were brainwashed. I could never blame you for that.” Tony leaned back, giving Bucky a winning smile. “Let’s have some drinks!” Before Bucky could respond Tony was heading over to the bar and pouring them drinks. “Fuck the past! Let’s drink to the future and all the awesome things to come.” Tony gave him a wink before shoving a drink in his hand.

* * *

Bucky woke up hungover and on the couch. He didn’t even know he could still get drunk let alone hungover. No one was around and Bucky groaned, really hoping he hadn’t made a fool out of himself last night.

Despite having whatever serum Hydra had injected into him Tony had drunk him under the table. Bucky was three sheets to the wind while Tony was walking back and forth to the bar without even a wobble in his step.

Bucky couldn’t remember much, but had the distinct feeling he embarrassed himself.

When he made his way to the communal floor everyone was there, excluding Tony, Natasha, and Loki.

“You look like shit,” Clint said while biting into a bagel.

“Fuck off.”

“Drinking with Tony is always a terrible idea,” Loki said while entering the kitchen. “He becomes disgusting and disorderly, like Thor is every day.”

“You wound me, brother,” Thor said while gripping his chest.

“Thankfully your hard head isn’t as easily wounded as your pride.” Loki grabbed a large stack of pancakes and doused it in syrup before disappearing.

“Only Thor can outdrink Tony,” Bruce said, “and even then it’s pretty close.”

“Yeah, well Tony had a lot of practice before he settled down.” Clint rolled up a pancake and bit into. “Might as well get some food in you.”

“Come here, Buck. I’ll make you some eggs, just like the old days,” Clint laughed at them. Steve went to the fridge to pull out a few eggs as Bucky set at breakfast bar.

Bucky just laid his head on the cool counter.

* * *

Bucky started spending more time with Tony in his lab. He was at first worried that he was a bother, but Tony assured him he wasn’t and that he actually worked better when there was someone around to hear him talk.

Listening to Tony was… interesting. Bucky didn’t understand half the stuff he said, but just staring at Tony was enough. He was always grinning, randomly getting one of his robots to bring him something, then scolding them when they messed up.

Bucky felt like a lovesick puppy-dog, just staring at him with wide eyes. He tried to hide it, but he felt so damn obvious, but Tony never said anything. Bucky didn’t know if that was a good or a bad sign. Tony was a genius, both self-proclaimed and tested, so he should have good observation skills. On the other hand he was usually so consumed with his creations that he barely saw the world around him. Bucky didn’t know what to think.

Now Bucky just had to work up the courage to ask him out on a date.

* * *

Tony and Loki were arguing and Bucky was hiding around the corner, not knowing what to do. It looked like it might get violent. Clint and Natasha were out on assignment. Bruce was nowhere to be seen. Steve and Thor were out getting acquainted with the modern world.

“You idiotic mortal! I should throw you out a window, and then perhaps you’d learn your place!” Loki shouted, grabbing Tony by his shirt. Bucky squeezed his hands at his sides, trying to control himself. Tony could handle this.

“Fuck you, Loki.” Tony grabbed Loki by his hair and pulled his head back. Loki snarled. “I’ll bite your throat out.”

“Oh, you foolish little man…”

“Really, you’re going to make a short joke?” Tony scoffed and Loki’s grin became twisted.

“Oh, I wasn’t referring to your height.” Rage flashed across Tony’s face before he suddenly punched him. Loki’s head barely moved on impact and in a flash he was throwing Tony down and pouncing on him.

“Tony!” Bucky called out while jumping from his hiding spot. He tripped as he spotted Loki and Tony. Loki’s pants were halfway down and Tony was groping him.

“Do you mind?” Loki asked after pulling his mouth away from Tony’s neck.

“Uhm.” Bucky was frozen in place. All he could see was that Tony’s legs were spread wide and that he was grinding against Loki.

“Loki,” Tony moaned, seemingly not having even noticed Bucky.

“One moment, love,” Loki crooned into Tony’s ear. He turned back to Bucky, giving him a confused look before the pair just disappeared before his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Why? Because there's a bit too much fluff in the WinterIron ship for my taste.


End file.
